James Bond is in disgrace. His medical report is critical of the high living that is ruining his health, and M packs him off for a fortnight to a health farm to be tuned up to his former pitch of exceptional fitness. Bond expects a trying two weeks. The last thing he expects is an adversary more deadly, more ruthless even than SMERSH.

The Spy Who Loved Me

For the first time, listeners to James Bond's adventures will see Agent 007 as he appears through the eyes of a beautiful woman...a woman who, in the midst of brutality and terror, recognizes Bond for what he is: a handsome and appealing killer. But only a killer can help her now!

You Only Live Twice

When Ernst Stavro Blofeld blasts into eternity the girl James Bond has married only hours before, the heart and zest for life goes out of Bond. M, unwilling to lose his best man, is persuaded to give him one last chance: an impossible mission far removed from his usual duties. Bond heads to Japan and a mysterious residence known as the "Castle of Death".

Goldfinger

James Bond is challenged by a maniacal superfiend: the world's cleverest, cruelest criminal. Complications abound. A beautiful golden girl turns up dead, and a friendly game of two-handed canasta turns into a deadly game of survival with ever-rising stakes: 15 billion dollars worth of U.S. government bullion. But 007 knows that Auric Goldfinger's rules remain brutally simple: heads I win, tails you die.

The Man with the Golden Gun

Bond, believed dead for a year following the events of You Only Live Twice, returns to England. Brainwashed by the KGB, he believes his mission is to assassinate M. After his mind is "scrubbed", he is given a chance to redeem himself. The mission: to go to the Caribbean and track down Francisco Scaramanga, the one they call the Man with the Golden Gun. He has built a deadly laser for the express purpose of killing.

On Her Majesty's Secret Service

When James Bond rescues a beautiful, reckless girl from self-destruction, he finds himself with a lead on one of the most dangerous men in the world: Ernst Stavro Blofeld, the head of SPECTRE. Blofeld is conducting research that could threaten the safety of the world. To thwart this evil genius, Bond must infiltrate Blofeld's base of operations while avoiding the agents of SPECTRE.

Dr. No

M calls this case a "soft option". He sends Bond to Jamaica to investigate the disappearance of the head of the Kingston station. Jamaica is luxurious, and the seductive Honey Rider is beautiful and willing, but they are both part of the empire of Dr. No.

Diamonds Are Forever

African diamonds are being smuggled into the United States, and it's up to the British Secret Service to infiltrate the organized crime families in America and destroy the smugglers. James Bond is not afraid of gangsters, but then he hasn't really met any until now. With advice from his American friend, Felix Leiter, Bond tracks a diamond smuggling ring from Africa through London to the United States.

From Russia with Love

Every major foreign government organization has a file on British secret agent James Bond. Now, Russia's lethal SMERSH organization has targeted him for elimination. SMERSH is the Soviet organ of vengeance, interrogation, torture, and death. James Bond is dedicated to the destruction of its agents wherever he finds them.

Quantum of Solace: The Complete James Bond Short Stories

Bringing together all of the James Bond short stories in one volume for the first time, this is the ultimate celebration of suave and deadly secret agent 007. Whether he's making an unexpected discovery in the Bahamas, hunting down a Cuban hit man in wild country, smashing an international drug ring in Rome, or on the trail of a murderous assassin in Berlin's sniper alley, dangerous missions and beautiful women come with the job for James Bond. And this agent is always a consummate professional.

Octopussy and The Living Daylights

Octopussy is an anthology of three novellas. In the title story, 007 is sent to Jamaica to deal with a rich, deranged major with a fondness for eight-legged creatures. In "The Living Daylights", Bond's mission is to kill the KGB sniper, code named Trigger, who will try to prevent an important Russian official from defecting. "The Property of a Lady" finds Bond at an auction, tracking down an exotic object d'art and a deceptive woman.

Moonraker

When James Bond is asked to settle a dispute over "ungentlemanly behavior" at an exclusive gambling club, the affair is embarrassing in the extreme, for the accused is the unimpeachable Sir Hugo Drax: business tycoon, popular hero, patriot extraordinaire, and head of the multimillion-dollar Moonraker missile program on which Britain's future defense depends.

Live and Let Die

Those Mr. Big cannot possess he crushes; those who cross him will meet painful ends -- like his beautiful prisoner, Solitaire, and her lover, James Bond. Both are marked as victims in a trail of treachery that leads from New York's black underworld to the dark secrets of the island in the sun that Mr. Big calls his own. Voodoo, sharks, barracuda, time bombs, harpoon guns, torture, and terror are the ingredients for a scalding brew that reaches the boiling point in an eruption of violence.

Casino Royale

Introducing James Bond: charming, sophisticated, handsome, chillingly ruthless, and licensed to kill. This, the first of Ian Fleming's tales of secret agent 007, finds Bond on a mission to neutralize a lethal, high-rolling Russian operative called "Le Chiffre" by ruining him at the Baccarat table, forcing his Soviet spymasters to "retire" him. It seems that lady luck has sided with 007 when Le Chiffre hits a losing streak. But some people just refuse to play by the rules.

The Spy Who Loved Me: James Bond, Book 10

When 007 turns up at a sleepy American backwoods motel, it doesn't take him long to realize that Vivienne Michel is in a tight spot, and that Sol Horror and Sluggsy Morant are hardened killers bent on destruction. Escaping from a past she doesn't want to relive, Viv turns to James Bond to save her.

You Only Live Twice: James Bond, Book 12

James Bond seems unable to function after the death of his wife. Determined to restore 007 to the effective agent he used to be, M sends him on a mission to Japan, to the mysterious "Castle of Death", and into the lair of an old and terrifying enemy. For Bond and Blofeld, this will be their final encounter. Only one of them can survive.

From Russia with Love: James Bond, Book 5

James Bond is targeted for elimination by SMERSH, and the malevolent Colonel Rosa Klebb has set a trap in Istanbul. The bait is the Spektor decoding machine, which is to be delivered by the irresistible Tatiana Romanova. The assassin is Red Grant, a psychopath who has defected from the West. Bond and Tatiana become pawns in a game of cross and double-cross that reaches its deadly finale on the Orient Express.

Goldeneye: Where Bond Was Born: Ian Fleming's Jamaica

For two months every year, from 1946 to his death 18 years later, Ian Fleming lived at Goldeneye, the house he built on a point of high land overlooking a small white-sand beach on Jamaica's stunning north coast. All the James Bond novels and stories were written there. This audiobook explores the huge influence of Jamaica on the creation of Fleming's iconic postwar hero. The island was for Fleming part retreat from the world, part tangible representation of his values, and part exotic fantasy.

Goldfinger: James Bond, Book 7

A game of canasta turns out crooked, and a golden girl ends up dead. It seems that Auric Goldfinger is a bad loser when it comes to cards. He's also the world's most ruthless and successful gold smuggler. As James Bond follows his trail, he discovers that Goldfinger's real game is the heist of fifteen billion dollars of US government bullion. The final hand is played at Fort Knox, in a spectacular display of deception and intrigue.

Live and Let Die: James Bond, Book 2

When 007 goes to Harlem,it's not just for the jazz. This is the kingdom of Mr. Big, master of crime,voodoo baron, and partner in SMERSH's grim company of death. Those Mr. Big cannotpossess he crushes - like his beautiful prisoner, Solitaire, and her would-besaviors James Bond and Agency man Felix Leiter. All three are marked out asvictims in a trail of terror, treachery, and torture that leads from New York'sunderworld to the shark-infested island in the sun that Mr. Big calls his own.

On Her Majesty's Secret Service: James Bond, Book 11

In his Alpine base, Blofeld is developing biological weapons that will devastate Britain. Unaware of the danger, James Bond is about to marry Teresa di Vicenzo, the daughter of a Corsican Mafioso. But then he is sent to Switzerland. Bond's marriage and Blofeld's schemes disintegrate in a blizzard of gunfire and high-explosives from which neither man emerges the victor.

The Man with the Golden Gun: James Bond, Book 13

If you try to assassinate your boss - even though brainwashed at the time - you must pay the price. To redeem himself James Bond is sent to kill one of the most lethal hit men in the world … Paco "Pistols" Scaramanga. In the sultry heat of Jamaica, 007 infiltrates his target's criminal cooperative - only to find that Scaramanga's bullets are laced with snake venom. When the end comes, every shot will count.

Carte Blanche: The New James Bond Novel

Fresh from Afghanistan, James Bond has been recruited to a new agency. Conceived in the post-9/11 world, it operates independent of Five, Six and the MoD, its very existence deniable. Its aim: to protect the Realm, by any means necessary. The Night Action alert calls Bond from dinner with a beautiful woman. GCHQ has decrypted an electronic whisper about an attack scheduled for later in the week: casualties estimated in the thousands, British interests adversely affected.

Moonraker: James Bond, Book 3

The Moonraker project has a millionaire backer, the war hero Sir Hugo Drax - a man who, it seems, cheats at cards. With a ballistic rocket at stake, Sir Hugo's exposure could threaten Britain's latest defense system, so James Bond is asked to investigate. Moving from London's most exclusive gambling club to a missile silo on the Channel coast, 007 and his Special Branch assistant, Gala Brand, discover there's more to Drax than meets the eye.

Publisher's Summary

James Bond is in disgrace. His medical report is critical of the high living that is ruining his health, and M packs him off for a fortnight to a health farm to be tuned up to his former pitch of exceptional fitness. Bond expects a trying two weeks. The last thing he expects is an adversary more deadly, more ruthless even, than SMERSH.

Thunderball is an incredible adventure, one which finds James Bond tackling SPECTRE. Operating in the Gulf Stream, this daring crime ring has perpetrated the most arrogant blackmail demand ever attempted.

What the Critics Say

"If you wish to steal atom bombs, this is how you must do it! Fleming's mastery of detail enables the reader to suspend disbelief." (Sunday Telegraph) "Thunderball is a terrific book....excellent characterizations, is extremely moody and dark in tone, and full of dynamic action." (Raymond Benson, author of High Time to Kill)

The action-oriented espionage classics by Ian Fleming are always an enjoyable read, or in this case, listen. The audio is great, and the narrator's voice and accent create an enthralling, believable production of the literature.

Would you consider the audio edition of Thunderball to be better than the print version?

Yes, this story is a little/lot dated and the performance seems to make it more real, kind of like a retrospective spy novel, set in the late 1950's.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Yes and no. I read this book nearly 40 years ago, and most of us have seen the movie, which somewhat follows the book and in many ways does not. So there was a missing element of suspense for me personally. I really loved reading these James Bond novels in my junior high school and high school years. It was good to relive this work as an older adult and find the book still interesting and the characters, locales and action compelling. This is one of the better James Bond entries and set the stage for many fun movies and future novels bases on the premise of the Spector criminal organization. Fleming seems to delight in putting you into beautiful locales with lavish yachts, casinos and mansions. It's all good fun and entertaining.

Which character – as performed by Simon Vance – was your favorite?

Simon Vance did an excellent job narrating this spy novel.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, it is realively short in length so it is possible. The book has a certain flow that you will enjoy letting the story unfold. Ian Fleming was an excellent storyteller, so you are never stuck with a dull chapter. Fleming wrote in a sparse number of pages with a large numbers of chapters so each becomes it own little cliffhanger. You are teased into needing to listen to the next chapter and the next and so on.

Any additional comments?

This is an excellent entry in the Bond series and well worth the time and expense to enjoy. All that said, it is a product of the 1950's so much of it may ring quaint or even a little campy.

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